Gene Banks

American basketball player

Gene Banks

Banks as an assistant coach with the Washington Wizards in 2012

Personal information
Born|  (1959-05-15) May 15, 1959 (age 66)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Listed height| 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight| 215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High school| West Philadelphia
(Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
College| Duke (1977–1981)
NBA draft| 1981: 2nd round, 28th overall pick
Drafted by| San Antonio Spurs
Playing career| 1981–1993
Position| Shooting guard / small forward
Number| 20
Coaching career| 2009–present
Career history
As a player:
1981–1985| San Antonio Spurs
1985–1987| Chicago Bulls
1988–1989| Arimo Bologna
1989–1990| La Crosse Catbirds
1990–1992| Maccabi Rishon Lezion
1992–1993| Hapoel Herzliya
As a coach:
2009–2012| Washington Wizards (assistant)
Career highlights

* Third-team All-American – NABC (1981)
* Third-team All-American – UPI (1979)
* First-team All-ACC (1981)
* 3× Second-team All-ACC (1978–1980)
* ACC Rookie of the Year (1978)
* 2× First-team Parade All-American (1976, 1977)
* McDonald's All-American Game MVP (1977)

Career NBA statistics
Points| 5,305 (11.3 ppg)
Rebounds| 2,718 (5.8 rpg)
Assists| 1,335 (2.9 apg)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference

Eugene Lavon Banks (born May 15, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He was born and raised in Philadelphia.

## Early life and education

[edit]

Banks was born in Philadelphia. He attended West Philadelphia High School, where he was a 6'7" forward. Nicknamed "Tinkerbell," Banks was named to high school All-American teams his last three years of high school. By his senior year, he was considered one of the best players in the country, along with Albert King and Magic Johnson. Banks was voted MVP of the 1977 Dapper Dan and named to the inaugural McDonald's All-American team, which played in the 1977 Capital Classic;[1][2] he was also voted its MVP.

Banks' attended Duke University, where he played for college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils. He also was heavily recruited by other NCAA Division I college basketball programs, including UCLA and Villanova. Banks has said that a high school teacher had repeatedly emphasized Duke's academic opportunities, which prompted him to participate in a recruiting visit to the school.[3]

### College basketball career

[edit]

At Duke, Banks started as a freshman alongside such players as Mike Gminski, Jim Spanarkel, and Kenny Dennard. After finishing last in the conference the prior year, the Blue Devils were ranked in the top 10 by the end of the regular season. Qualifying for the NCAA tournament for the first time in a dozen years, the Blue Devils reached the championship game in 1978, losing to Kentucky, 94–88. During that rookie season, Banks became the first Duke freshman to record a triple double and was named the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Rookie of the Year.

Banks' teams never again made it to the Final Four, though they did qualify for the NCAA tournament during two of the next three years. The team's overall record during his 4 years was 90–37. During the course of his 4-year Duke career, Banks averaged 16.8 points, 7.9 rebounds, and shot 53% from the field.[4] During those final three seasons, Banks was named team MVP each year.[4]

During his senior season, playing for Mike Krzyzewski, Banks won the ACC scoring title over such players as James Worthy and Ralph Sampson. He was named to All American teams after two of his seasons.

Banks is widely seen as a crucial recruit as Duke slowly transitioned into the world of integrated college basketball. While the sixth African American player in Duke's history, he was the school's first Black All American, setting the stage for Coach Krzyzewski's later recruiting success.[5]

Banks received his BA in English from Duke in May 1981, where he was one of the two graduation speakers selected from the student body.

## Professional basketball

[edit]

Banks played six seasons and 468 games in the National Basketball Association. Competing for the San Antonio Spurs and the Chicago Bulls, he averaged 11.3 points per game. His career high of 44 points was achieved against the Los Angeles Lakers in 1983. He recorded his first NBA triple-double with the Chicago Bulls.

In the 1988–89 season, Banks played in Italy for Arimo Bologna. He went from Italy to continue his career as a member of the Maccabi Rishon Lezion basketball club in Israel. In 1993, he continued his play in Israel as a member of Hapoel Herzliya and took them to the Israeli Cup Championship game.

Between these stints, Banks played the 1989–90 season with the La Crosse Catbirds of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA), averaging 15.3 points in 40 games. The Catbirds would go on to win the CBA title that year.[6]

### Coaching

[edit]

In 2009, Gene Banks became an assistant coach with the Washington Wizards.[7] In 2012, Banks was reassigned from assistant coach with the Wizards to scout of the southern region of the eastern Atlantic Coast. He is credited with the development of such players as JaVale McGee, Andray Blatche, and Kevin Seraphin.

## Honors

[edit]

Banks was inducted into the Duke Basketball Hall of Fame in 1994, and the Duke Hall of Honors in 1996.

In 2007, Banks was named the "best foreign player" to ever play for Maccabi Rishon LeZion.

## NBA career statistics

[edit]

### Regular season

[edit]

Year  | Team  | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1981–82 | San Antonio | 80 | 4 | 21.3 | .477 | .000 | .684 | 5.1 | 1.8 | .7 | .2 | 9.6
1982–83 | San Antonio | 81 | 81 | 33.6 | .550 | .000 | .705 | 7.6 | 3.4 | 1.0 | .3 | 14.9
1983–84 | San Antonio | 80 | 66 | 32.5 | .568 | .167 | .741 | 7.3 | 3.2 | 1.3 | .3 | 13.1
1984–85 | San Antonio | 82 | 41 | 25.5 | .586 | .333 | .774 | 5.4 | 2.9 | .8 | .2 | 9.5
1985–86 | Chicago | 82 | 33 | 26.1 | .517 | .000 | .718 | 4.4 | 3.1 | 1.0 | .1 | 10.9
1986–87 | Chicago | 63 | 39 | 28.9 | .539 | .000 | .767 | 4.9 | 2.7 | .8 | .3 | 9.7
Career  | 468 | 264 | 27.9 | .539 | .043 | .730 | 5.8 | 2.9 | .9 | .2 | 11.3

### Playoffs

[edit]

Year  | Team  | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1982 | San Antonio | 9 | – | 16.2 | .462 | .000 | .400 | 4.8 | 1.0 | .4 | .3 | 7.1
1983 | San Antonio | 11 | – | 36.2 | .507 | – | .657 | 6.9 | 4.5 | 1.0 | .1 | 15.9
1985 | San Antonio | 1 | 0 | 10.0 | .000 | – | – | .0 | 1.0 | .0 | .0 | .0
1986 | Chicago | 3 | 0 | 23.0 | .556 | .000 | .500 | 3.3 | 1.7 | .3 | .0 | 7.3
1987 | Chicago | 3 | 3 | 26.3 | .591 | – | .625 | 2.7 | .7 | .0 | .0 | 10.3
Career  | 27 | 3 | 26.0 | .504 | .000 | .596 | 5.1 | 2.5 | .6 | .1 | 10.8

## See also

[edit]

* List of NBA career field goal percentage leaders

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "The Origin of the McDonalds All American Game". ESPN. February 26, 2003. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
2. ^ "Prep Al-America revealed". The Herald Journal. March 20, 1977. p. 14. Retrieved April 3, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
3. ^ Bell, Daryl (February 26, 2019). "Before Zion: How Gene Banks paved the way for Duke's stars".
4. ^ a b "Gene Banks College Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
5. ^ Jacobs, Barry (November 1, 2007). Across the Line: Profiles in Basketball Courage : Tales of the First Black Players in the ACC and SEC. Lyons Press. pp. 73–. ISBN 9781599210421. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
6. ^ 1990–91 CBA Official Guide and Register, page 250
7. ^ "Wizards Assistant Coaches". Washington Wizards.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gene Banks.

* Career statistics at Basketball-Reference
* Gene Banks' bio on the Wizards site at nba.com

* v
* t
* e

1981 NBA draft

First round|

* Mark Aguirre
* Isiah Thomas
* Buck Williams
* Al Wood
* Danny Vranes
* Orlando Woolridge
* Steve Johnson
* Tom Chambers
* Rolando Blackman
* Albert King
* Frank Johnson
* Kelly Tripucka
* Danny Schayes
* Herb Williams
* Jeff Lamp
* Darnell Valentine
* Kevin Loder
* Ray Tolbert
* Mike McGee
* Larry Nance
* Alton Lister
* Franklin Edwards
* Charles Bradley

Second round|

* Jay Vincent
* Tracy Jackson
* Brian Jackson
* Howard Wood
* Gene Banks
* Eddie Johnson
* Ed Rains
* Danny Ainge
* Mike Olliver
* Sam Williams
* Ken Green
* Charles Davis
* Ray Blume
* Al Leslie
* Clyde Bradshaw
* Harvey Knuckles
* Greg Cook
* Claude Gregory
* Elvis Rolle
* Elston Turner
* Steve Lingenfelter
* Ed Turner
* Vernon Smith

*[GP]: Games played
*[GS]: Games started
*[MPG]: Minutes per game
*[FG%]: Field goal percentage
*[3P%]: 3-point field-goal percentage
*[FT%]: Free-throw percentage
*[RPG]: Rebounds per game
*[APG]: Assists per game
*[SPG]: Steals per game
*[BPG]: Blocks per game
*[PPG]: Points per game
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template